


Number 1

by JubblyPippo644292



Category: Dorohedoro
Genre: Angst, Blood and Gore, Canon - Anime, Canon Compliant, Character Study, Dysfunctional Family, Fluff, Gen, Swearing, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:20:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25312972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JubblyPippo644292/pseuds/JubblyPippo644292
Summary: A character study for Noi, focusing on her relationship with En and Shin precanon and during canon.
Relationships: En & Noi (Dorohedoro), Noi/Shin (Dorohedoro)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 33





	1. Younger.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy!  
> This work contains some canon interpretation and a few headcanons.  
> With thanks to my partner for Beta-ing.

When En came for her, it was easy. There was no conflict, no fanfare or tears. It just happened. Noi's parents didn't suspect a thing, why would they? What kind of person abducted their own cousin? En was exactly that sort of person. 

Soothing their worries with pretty words and firm reassurances, En managed to stroll into his Aunt and Uncle's house for a family lunch then leave with their only child in tow. It would be good for her, he said, a small holiday to sightsee around the sorcerer's realm. They had believed him, even in En's awkward teenage years he was extremely charismatic; He always got what he wanted. 

And what he wanted was a magic user with healing smoke as potent as Noi's. He had searched far and wide, finding no one as capable as she, so he took her with him. 

Despite being a small child, she could heal the most life-threatening of wounds with a quick puff of dense smoke. In hindsight, she was probably lucky that En managed to get to her first and not some smoke harvesters. 

En held Noi on his hip as they crested the hill just behind her parent's house and then he called for the Devil. She had never seen a Devil this close before, she craned her neck and fisted her little hands into their robes as they loomed over the pair, tongue lashing. 

_ "Make them forget."  _

The Devil agreed with a catch, if Noi strained her memory she could remember their rasping voice and saliva dripping onto her hands with how eagerly they nodded. They chattered on about a weird exam using big words that Noi didn't understand and En agreed with a solemn nod. With a click of their clawed fingers, she felt a slight itch at the back of her mind and wondered who the house in the distance belonged to. Her parents forgot, Noi nearly did but she could remember the smell of her mother's blouse and the way her father's hand felt as he ruffled her hair. She didn't know their names or faces and as far as En was concerned, he was her only family now. They wouldn't come for a child they couldn't remember. 

Noi twisted in his grasp to look back at the house, frowning as she felt the burn of tears in her eyes but confused when they never came. The sorrow was detached and distant as they walked away. En was clearly expecting more of a fuss as he rubbed her back, the most affectionate he had ever and would ever be with Noi. 

Were it not in such worrying circumstances, she might have enjoyed her first ever broom ride. They shot across the sky and landed in a faraway town on top of a humble base of sorts. Noi had never been a shy girl but the numbness clouding her body had her clinging to En as they entered a room full of strangers. 

He grunted as her little nails dug into his neck and sat her down in a free chair then disappeared out of the room. 

Noi tried her best not to panic, clenching her tiny fists and glaring at a man with red facial markings who smiled across at her, his long hair sweeping across his shoulders.

"Hey there, you must be En's Noi." He reached over with a hand posed to shake hers.

Noi smacked it away and harrumphed. "I'm not En's! I'm just Noi." 

He accepted the rejection and snorted at her sour expression. "Alright, alright, Just Noi. I'm Tenjin." 

"No! Not Just Noi! My name is Noi! I thought adults were supposed to be smart." She narrowed her eyes at Tenjin as he laughed at her. 

"Aren't you a little Devil?" Tenjin snorted as she blew a raspberry at him. 

"You look like En!" She declared with all the unshakable uncertainty of a child. 

Tenjin's eyes widened and he stammered. "Like En-san? What makes you say that, Noi-chan?"

Noi hefted herself up onto the table and slapped at the markings on his face, not noticing his winces. "These! The red patches, En says only good sorcerers get them but I don't believe him." 

" _ Ouch _ , not all sorcerers get them and only some of them are red like your cousin and I, they can be any colour like blue or black. We were just born like this, like you and your white hair, Noi-chan." 

She tugged on his long hair with a thoughtful look. "Your hair is pretty, Tenji, almost as pretty as mines!" 

Tenjin suffered the torment quietly as a few strands came loose. "You're strong for your age, Noi-chan."

Noi grinned smugly. "I know, Tenji. Hey if my cousin is your boss then that makes me your boss too!" She let go of his hair and stood in front of him on the table with her hands on her hips. "Respect your elders!" 

Tenjin stifled the laughter that threatened to break out at the little girl's behavior and he instead rearranged his expression into a subservient grovel. "Of course, Noi-sama. How old are you anyway?"

She nodded in self satisfaction and held up her fingers to signify her age with a moment of debate. "I'm this old!" 

En walked back into the room and raised a brow at the sight of Noi on the table and Tenjin with several small hand shaped marks imprinted on his face much to the amusement of the rest of the small gang. "Noi, come." 

She pouted as she had to leave her new friend and made to wave farewell at Tenjin but noticed the swiftly forming bruises. "Oops! Sorry Tenji!" Noi blasted a cloud of smoke at his surprised face and smirked as he poked and prodded at his healed cheeks. 

"Wow, that's some magic, Noi-sama. Thank you." Tenjin bowed to her and hid a smile at her delighted giggle. 

"Noi." 

She huffed and slid off the table. "Okay okay I'm coming! 

The other group members in the room were shocked at the disrespectful way she addressed En but she didn't care. Noi would speak to her cousin however she wanted. 

He led her to a lonely room at the very back of the upper floor and gestured for her to go inside. There was a bed sat in the corner, a few bookshelves stuffed with dusty books and a wooden dolls house on a table. "The owners have no need of this room anymore. It's yours." 

Noi made a beeline for the dollshouse and turned her back to En as she gently touched the carved dolls and rubbed their dresses between her fingers. "Are they on holiday?" 

"No." 

The answer confused her but she wasn't interested enough to ask why as her attention was captured by the posed figures of a happy family, a daughter framed by her parents. "Where is my mummy and daddy, En?" Her lower lip trembled and she didn't know why she felt so sad. 

"They are fine, Noi, you're staying with me from now on." 

Noi scrubbed her eyes and turned to him, looking up his gangly frame into his empty eyes. "What if I don't want to stay with you?" 

En crouched down and placed his hands on her skinny shoulders. "Where would you go? You have no idea where you are and I'm the only one you have. If you walked out that door you would get snatched up within the hour, be grateful that I'm going to look after you."

She started shaking lightly and the tears bubbled over, tracing scalding hot lines down her face as En's image became blurred. "I want to go home." 

He pulled her into his arms, wrapping them around her tightly, possessively. Noi didn't move and remained trembling. "We're family, Noi. This is your home now." 

En didn't smell comforting like her mummy, he smelled cold and musty, the scent clung to her nostrils like the way his hands gripped at her. 

He always got what he wanted. 

* * *

" _ En,"  _ Noi whined, trudging her feet on the grass. "I'm tired."

She was accompanying the group on a mission; her first mission. She didn't know the details, only that she was here to heal anyone that got hurt. Noi's short legs couldn't keep up with the others and they had already travelled quite a distance by foot, unable to take a broom or carpet for fear of ruining the ambush.

"Quiet, Noi." En grunted and she could tell the heat and laborious trek was getting to him as well. His hair was drooping somewhat and his long forehead was covered in a light sheen of sweat and she doubted that under his mask fared any better. 

Tenjin rubbed her back sympathetically and shushed her gently. "En-san, I can-" 

"No." En sighed and scooped up Noi, holding her so she peaked over his shoulder at the astonished group. He wouldn't risk Noi being stolen away by any potential traitors that could have infiltrated his gang so he took it upon himself to carry his unhappy little cousin. 

The gentle sway of En's strides slowly lulled Noi into a restless nap and she woke to the sight of one of the members of the Family's insides firmly on the outside of their body and she was forced to heal them despite her fear. The steaming ropes of intestines squirmed as the underling gurgled on the ground, Noi couldn’t take her eyes off the puddles of blood surrounding her and En. Her cousin was unfazed and he simply nudged her towards the man. 

“Go ahead, Noi.” Her mouth felt dry and she tried to hack up smoke only to break into ragged coughs as En pushed her even closer. “Hurry up, he will die soon.” 

Noi managed to exhale enough smoke for his injuries to roll back in time and his organs tucked themselves back inside his gut. He sighed in relief and clutched at Noi’s hand, covering it in blood. “Thank you, Noi-sama.”

The way Tenjin addressed Noi had stuck to the rest of the team as they would often run to fulfil her whimsical childlike fancies, a hardened group of sorcerers brought to their knees by a tiny girl. 

Shuffling backwards, Noi remained kneeling on the ground, staring at the blood coating her wrist as the rest of the Family bustled around her. Tenjin crouched beside her and wiped off her hands with his shirt. “It gets easier, Noi-sama.” He murmured.

Noi didn’t  _ want  _ it to get easier. She didn’t want to do this. She didn’t want to be with En.

“Noi, there's another.” En called out from the other side of the clearing.

She rose unsteadily, refusing Tenjin’s outstretched hand and she forced herself towards En on wobbly legs. Noi would continue to heal, not for En, but for her tentative friends that she had made in her time stuck with the Family.

* * *

Quickly, surprisingly quickly, En had enough followers to establish a permanent base at that dingy little house that Noi was first brought to almost two years ago. They had expanded to take over the entire street and there was a squad of guards stationed outside Noi’s room at all times. A recent addition that she  _ detested _ . So she snuck out.

She stashed a few of her dolls in her shirt sleeves and lowered herself down the drainpipe outside her window. The first time she had done this, Noi broke both of her legs but thankfully was able to stifle her screams long enough to heal and continue on her merry way. Now, Noi was an expert at dodging En’s men. Now that the Family had grown, there were goons that were solely loyal to En and they immediately ratted her out if she was doing something that he had forbade. The original members of the Family still indulged in her while not directly disobeying the boss. 

Noi wormed her way into her usual hideout and instead found it occupied. A tall man had filled the room with strange idols and symbols carved into the floor. He was reading a book with a finger held thoughtfully to his mouth then he noticed his uninvited guest and turned with a surprised exclamation. “Oh! You must be Noi-chan~” The man had bright eyes and an even brighter smile, showing off his pearly whites as he beamed at her.

She paused halfway through the window she had been scaling, unsure. “...Will you tell En?” 

The man winked and wagged his finger at her. “Sneaking out are we? Don’t worry, you’re just meeting the latest member of the family! Chota is pleased to meet you.” The stranger- no,  _ Chota,  _ bowed theatrically at her and she relaxed then slipped into the room fully. “What do you have there?” He had noticed her protective hold on her dolls.

“Nothing.” Noi mumbled, embarrassed that she still played with the silly things, her childhood had been marred by the violence that surrounded the En Family.

“They are very pretty.” Chota said kindly as she blushed and thankfully busied himself with sorting his bookshelves.

Noi was drawn to the weird books, one of them was somehow dripping liquid continuously despite the surrounding tomes being bone dry and another was smoking lightly. “What’s that?” She pointed at the collection but didn’t get too close.

“My magic requires a fair amount of study, it’s rare too. Just like yours.” He explained as he shuffled the tomes and scrolls around. Intrigued, Noi stepped over a chalk sigil and looked up expectantly at Chota. Laughing, he handed over a small book that Noi immediately snatched up and greedily looked over it while peaking at him every few seconds. “I can dispel other magic users' smoke.”

Pausing in her rapid scanning of the pages full of anatomical studies and cross-sections, Noi looked at Chota with disbelief. “Prove it.” She demanded and pocketed the tiny handbook.

Covering his mouth politely as he burst into giggles, Chota shook his head. “With what, Noi-chan? You’ll see at some point, I promise.”

Footsteps sounded from the hallway and knocking started at the door. “Chota? We need to talk.” Noi stiffened as she heard En and Chota quickly ushered her back to the window. “Just a moment, En-san!” His voice was breathy and excited.

Chota lifted her up and over the sill, waving goodbye as he held a finger to his lips “Our secret.”

After that first meeting, Noi would visit Chota often, too young to notice the building mania. His hands would shake and he would watch the door, waiting for someone to arrive as he gently ran his fingers over his mouth consideringly.

One day, Noi hopped through the window to find the room empty. Chota was gone, whisked away somewhere that she wasn’t allowed to go. No amount of demanding and sneaking would change En’s mind, she only ceased when he had spoken to her himself. Somehow more serious than usual, he had simply shook his head and Noi could see that her cousin was troubled so she agreed, surprising both herself and En. 

She never saw Chota’s bright smile again.

* * *

Noi was only allowed to learn how to fight after a close call during a battle she was tagging along on. Normally, she stayed at the back of the fight, slipping in between combatants and running to heal the Family. Soon enough, there was someone that was faster than a little girl and with an arm thicker than her whole body wrapped around her neck, Noi was held hostage in front of the entire Family; in front of En.

Through her stunned silence, Noi distantly marvelled at how angry her cousin was, she had never seen him so irate. And then her own anger came swiftly after.

Growling, Noi bit down on her captor’s arm, ripping out a chunk and rolling to the side as he let go, yelling in rage and pain. A menacing cloud of smoke rushed over her head and the man collapsed into a pile of mushrooms. 

En lifted her up and set her back onto her feet. “Noi, are you alright?!” His usually expressionless eyes were wild and his voice was urgent.

She nodded and wiped her mouth, he sighed quietly in relief, so quietly that she was certain only she could hear it. He let go and turned away, clipping his mask back into place. 

“Tenjin, take Noi home.”

Quickly bustling her onto a broom and flying home, Tenjin was silent the entire time and Noi was thinking. The taste of iron wouldn’t leave her mouth and the experience had opened her eyes. She couldn’t stay on the sidelines anymore, despite being able to heal from possibly any injury, that wouldn’t matter if she was abducted (again) and ended up in a worse place than the relative ease of being with En.

Noi hated En, she hated him with every fibre of her being, she was sure of that but didn’t he keep her safe from the dangerous sorcerer’s that would harvest her smoke until she inevitably died? He fed her, gave her clothes to wear and somewhat educated her. She didn’t have it as bad as those sad captive magic users, right?

"Tenji," Noi refused to call him his full name and imposed her own nickname on him. "Teach me how to fight." 

The broom dropped a few feet as he lost focus. "Noi-sama… I don't think we will be able to sneak our way around this one. We need En-san's permission, he'd kill me if I ever hurt you. N-not that I would but fighting is dangerous no matter the situation." 

Noi didn't try to persuade him after that, she knew once En was mentioned that other members of the Family wouldn't bow to her demands; she would have to ask him herself. 

Noi didn't have to wait very long, when the rest of the Family returned from the mission she waited patiently in the main hall as Tenjin whispered in En's ear.

She had the pleasure of watching his eyes widen in surprise and the narrow in irritation, a wrench in his works. He couldn't have predicted that Noi would grow the condemn the stifling way he treated her and didn't expect her to want to fight back and arm herself. 

Spinning on his heel, En jerked his head towards the street and Noi followed him, Tenjin and the others trailed them uncertainly as they could feel the tension between the cousins. 

They faced off. Quirking a brow, En crossed his arms and looked down on her. "So, you want to fight?" He kept his gaze trained on Noi but moved his head to the side to spit out a condensed cloud of smoke that rapidly changed form. 

Beginning as an unassuming mushroom, it soon expanded and contorted, growing larger and larger until it towered over everyone present. Claw-tipped hands spread wide in challenge and its grotesque imitation of En's face bellowing gutturally. Since he could see his 'opponent' and didn't bother to channel his senses through a faceful of fungi and simply closed his eyes to focus through the gaze of the clone. 

Noi steeled herself and widened her stance, like she had seen the others do before a fight, bringing her fists up awkwardly. 

En chuffed and the mushroom advanced with a speed she didn't expect from its sheer mass. 

Suddenly standing in front of her, she could only watch as it wound up a punch and struck her full in the chest, grinding most of her ribs into ivory dust. Noi sailed backwards and crashed into a brick wall, sliding down it, leaving a wide bloody swath and unable to scream from the pain. En didn't attack her with his full strength but neither was he curbing any of his blows, this was an attempt to beat her down and force her to abandon her hope of becoming a trained fighter.

Blood gushed from Noi's mouth and she hazily raised her head to bare her teeth savagely at En. She knew what her cousin was playing at; he wasn't going to win this time.

As quickly as it had come, the immobilising pain retreated and her body cracked back into place. She rose and spat a few teeth onto the ground, poking at the freshly grown ones with her tongue as she carefully advanced. Each of Noi's determined strides became more steady as she got closer to the mushroom clone.

However, she wasn't a fighter and En watched her approach until it struck out with its leg that smashed into the side of her head. Noi's vision blacked out and she blinked, waking up at the other side of the road. She turned her head, wincing as she heard the shattered parts of her skull slide together like broken pottery and sat up. 

En was holding an arm out, halting Tenjin from going to her as he watched her smugly. That only gave her more cause to prove him wrong. 

Defying him, Noi struggled to stand and she watched the clone lumber over to her, each step slapping wetly on the concrete. It stood above her, gloating with En's face and lording over her weak attempts to rise. 

"Is that all, Noi?" En called out and Noi grit her teeth. 

Her eyes misted red with rage and she found the strength to push herself off the ground and thrust herself fist first at the clone.

Caught off guard by Noi's sudden burst of energy, it left its defences wide open. She focused all her anger, the years had been wrought with it and she honed every spiteful thought held towards En into her arm and dashed forward. 

The porous flesh burst around her strike and her punch sunk elbow deep within its chest as she panted like a wounded animal, dark liquid trailing down her arm. Noi leaned up, swaying on her feet and spat at its face. "I  _ win. _ " 

Both her and the mushroom collapsed at the same time and the street was silent until uproarious cheering startled Noi out of the brief unconsciousness she had fallen into. 

"Great fight, Noi-sama!" 

"Wow, you're a natural!" 

"Good job!" 

She drowned out the praise and smiled at the setting sun, the most elated she had been for as long as she could remember. Noi was pulled to her feet by firm hands and she looked up into the carefully placid expression on En's face. Her mouth fell open as he huffed a small laugh and headed for the base, calling out over his shoulder. "You can start training tomorrow." 

Momentarily stunned by her cousin laughing, he had never done that before, Noi squealed as she was hauled up onto the Tenjin's shoulders and surrounded by proud Family members who were all gushing at her performance and overwhelming her with fighting tips. She ignored all that and looked at the retreating back of En. 

Did he plan for this all along? 

* * *

Older now, jaded and blunt, Noi would spend her days sparring with the Family and her nights healing their wounds then retiring to her little dollhouse room to collapse on the child sized bed with a weary sigh of satisfaction. 

She had almost outgrown the mattress (lengthwise), despite her hard work with brawling, her body never changed to reflect the strength that had built up within her. It was almost sequestered away in some dusty part of Noi's body, hidden from sight. It was aggravating and she hoped it would change to reflect the violent energy brimming within her as she grew. 

She could hold her own with the best of the Family's fighters, although she knew they would never fight her at full strength she still put them through their paces. Noi was perfect at using her size to her advantage, she weaved under fists quick as a whip and hit like a truck. 

As she matured under the violent nurturing wings of the Family, it must have signalled to En that she was ready for something new. Noi's training lessons were cancelled for the day and she was told to wait in her room, unhappy and tense. 

Trying to distract herself, Noi sat in front of her vanity, the latest gaudy item to appear in her room, courtesy of En's wallet and combed out her long hair. She debated which ribbon to tie it up with and then En walked in. Noi didn't turn around and blew a lock of hair out of her eyes as she looked at him through the mirror. "Why am I stuck inside?" 

He didn't respond and stepped to the side to let two goons drag in a corpse, or at least what she thought was a corpse until it let out a rattling breath. 

There was a thick mushroom that had breached their chest, most likely through the lungs as they struggled to breath and their face was turning blue from lack of oxygen. Noi's eyes widened, it's not like she hadn't seen her cousin's magic before but this was the first time she was expected to heal them. The fungal smoke made her skin crawl and she'd much rather deal with the gruesome knife wounds left behind by a Cross-Eyes than this. 

"Noi, begin." 

She dropped her comb, scaring herself with the ensuing clatter and tore her gaze from the twitching body on the floor. "What will you do with them?" Noi knew by now that En held a proclivity for torture and she wanted no part in it, this was the first time she'd been exposed to it so  _ viscerally.  _ Was this the aftermath or just the beginning? If she ever wanted to get information from an unwilling force she would simply force her knuckles past their teeth and bash them down their throat, she wouldn't do… whatever  _ this  _ was. 

"Does it matter?" En said not even bothered by the hand clutching at his ankle in a plead for mercy, confirming Noi's suspicions that he wanted his victim hale and hearty for his little interrogation. 

Noi's jaw worked, no words coming out until she managed to splutter. "Fuck you!" 

Now En looked taken aback. "Where did you hear that from?" 

"Tenji," She gloated. "He says you say it to people you don't like and I don't like you En!" 

He sighed, shaking off the feeble grasp of the person on the floor and stepped over them to Noi. En looked down at her, shadows cast across his face and blacking out his eyes. "If you don't heal them, they will die. It would be your fault." 

"You're the one that hurt them first!" Noi knew she wasn't to blame here but all it took was En's self assured words to plant the first seeds of doubt and that was enough. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“No,” He agreed. “You can leave them to die here or you can heal them. If you heal them and if they tell me what I need to know, they can walk out of here alive. But if you refuse to help then you are condemning them.”

Noi looked back behind En and met the pain filled stare of the tormented soul who was clawing at the slowly growing fungus that was cracking its way through their ribs. She pushed past En and scrunched her eyes shut to avoid seeing the macabre sight to blow smoke over them.

_ “T-t-thank you...”  _ They rasped as they were dragged back out the room, drooping in shock as the pain dissipated.

En patted Noi on the shoulder, she shrugged out from under him. “Good.”

“I hate you.” She whispered as her hands shook.

“I know.” 

When he closed the door behind himself, Noi cried out an inarticulate shout of rage and punched her mirror. The glass shattered and shredded her knuckles bloody, she shook out the pain and cradled her hand to her chest, watching the skin slide shut.

“Quite the temper you have there.”

Noi blinked and caught a flash of motion reflected in a shard of glass on the ground, a large shadowy mass. She looked up and gasped as she took in the sight of a Devil crouched in the corner of the ceiling like some freakish spider, their cloven hooves braced on the wooden beams and thick arms widely spread along the sides of the walls. Noi stumbled back and bumped into a solid wall of muscle and fur, she craned her neck and saw the same Devil grinning down at her, the corner now empty. 

Saliva dripped onto Noi’s face and she grimaced, turning to face the Devil properly. “Are you here to see En? He just left.”

“No,” Their tongue wagged and their intense eyes burned with curiosity.

Remembering her manners and the fickle nature of Devils, Noi carefully bowed and gestured to her room. “I will try my best to entertain you, Devil.” She said, pushing away her trepidation to the back of her mind and steeling herself. En always told her to be respectful but to never grovel to a Devil, they would rip her apart at the first sign of weakness.

“The name’s Duston.” They strolled through the room, heavy hooves creaking on the floorboards and horns catching on the lightbulb. They sat on her bed, snapping it clean in two under their weight. Noi bit her lip and tried not to laugh at the tearful expression on Duston’s face, their features rearranged rapidly, stunningly quick as they bayed in rage and clicked their fingers. “Devil power!”

A huge bed formed underneath Duston, lifting them from the ground and propping them in a mountain of pillows as they lounged back, tears spilling from their eyes in satisfaction. Noi giggled and carefully sat next to Duston as they patted the space beside them. “Say, Noi, don’t you ever wanna leave this dump? Grow big and strong like your pal Duston?”

“How do you know my name?” She was intrigued and kicked her legs back and forth at the edge of the mattress, unable to touch the floor.

“Devil’s know everything yeah? Your cousin is the talk of Hell and Chidaruma loves the guy, but I’m interested in  _ you _ , Noi.” Duston’s wings quivered and their jaw opened wide in an attempt at a friendly smile.

The more Duston spoke, the more convinced Noi became. They told her the conditions of the exam and the trials she would undertake, she didn’t care how long it took or how brutal they would be. She would become a Devil and get away from En. 


	2. Older now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is mostly Shin centric, I simp for grumpy hammer man <3

While Noi didn’t know it at the time, meeting Shin was one of the best things that had ever happened to her. Despite the hammer wound in her skull and the boiling anger directed at the dine-and-dasher street rat, it had been years since she had been treated like a normal person and even though Shin cheated, it was still a fight to remember. She had never lost a fight yet. A fair one anyway. Brawling in a back alley with another teenager was something Noi thought she would never get to experience, the entire Family treated her like a pretty ornament whose only use was for the benefit of others; Tenjin excluded, she supposed. 

Rough and lean with a mean glare in his blue eyes, barely visible behind a shitty mask that looked like it was made from trash, Shin was someone Noi immediately wanted to fight. Despite his rotting limbs and skinny frame, she could see the danger rolling off of him in waves. That didn't stop Noi from giving him a piece of her mind, shouting at his grime smeared back as blood trickled into her visor, mixing with the light coat of sweat that came with wearing her armour. As Shin's cowardly ass disappeared beyond the horizon, she pulled her helmet down and trudged home; unaware of the small smile on her face. 

* * *

A few months later, Noi sat down in her usual seat in Flower Smoke, breezing by the long queues and revelling in the awed whispers as people took note of her Devil armour.

Tucking into a bowl of the speciality soup, she was interrupted by a certain street urchin making himself comfortable across from her. 

Hurriedly swallowing noodles so she didn't choke in her anger, she pointed her chopsticks at Shin threateningly. "What the hell are you doing here, huh?! You got some nerve coming back." Noi's fist clenched and the wood creaked under her fingers as she saw his smug grin. 

"Wow, you training to be a Devil?" Shin had an oddly calm voice when he wasn't screeching at her in the streets, at odds with his wild appearance. 

The store patron briefly looked over in alarm at the sudden clamour that erupted in their corner as Noi cussed out Shin. The one sided fight way back was worth his priceless expression when she exhausted her spiel and slipped her helm off. 

Sipping soup together, Noi found it surprisingly easy to talk with Shin and was even shocked when he managed to finish his meal before her. No one in the Family had a greater appetite than Noi. She had found her match in a gluttonous boy nearly as skinny as her. Although, the longer she sat with Shin, the longer she couldn't ignore it, that smell… 

"Hey, you stink, did you know that?" Noi said around a mouthful of savoury meat.

"Eh?!" Shin paused in his observation of the other sorcerers dining in the restaurant and a charming peach flush suffused his angular face. 

Nodding grimly, she put on a tone of false sympathy and patted his arm with her heavy clawed gloves. "Yeah, it's pretty bad. Gosh, I'm surprised I didn't smell you before I saw you!" 

Shin ripped his hand out from under her condescending motions. "Why you little…" 

"Actually I think we might be the same height, just so you know." Noi couldn't keep up the charade and burst out laughing at Shin's sour face. He narrowed his eyes, guarded and hooded, then he relaxed again in the booth as she giggled some more. "Don't worry, you can clean yourself up at the base, if you want to, that is. I dunno if this is a personal preference or-" 

"You've had your fun, brat!" Shin's face was still red and his voice was still hard but, dare she say it, edging on playful. "So, I'll see you around there then?" 

Feeling a seldom there and genuine pang of pity for him, Noi tried to soften the blow. "Honestly, probably not. I'm away quite a lot now for my training and I'm sure you will be busy trailing after En's heels anyway." When was the last time someone teased him and showed him a scrap of friendliness? The thought made her stomach churn. 

To his credit, Shin didn't look at all disappointed and stared down at her metal gauntlets. "Yeah, thought that might be the case." He looked back up at her. "What do you mean 'trailing after En'?" 

Wiping her mouth with a napkin, noting with amusement how Shin hurried to do the same as if he had forgotten about its existence beside his wrist, Noi shrugged. "All newbies are the same. You meet En then you meet me, and then you forget about me." She said this with a coolly detached tone, the memory of a bright eyed man flitting around a cramped room like a sparrow coming to mind. "You get busy on the job and don't bother with little Noi unless you need healing."

"I've already gotten it backwards then." Shin had a lopsided grin on his scarred face and some hair had flopped over his eyes. 

"Huh?" 

"I met  _ you  _ first and then you healed me without my asking, I don't think I'll be forgetting that any time soon." 

Noi's eyes were round with surprise and she rallied for a reply to his firmly self assured words, forcing down a blush. "I can take back my healing you ungrateful bastard!" She defaulted to threats when she was unsure.

Snickering and definitely seeing past her ruse, Shin questioned her. "Can you?" 

"Uhh, yeah. Sure, of course I can!!!" Noi shouted at him, much to his amusement. 

Holding his hands up in a mock placating gesture, he replied with a shit eating grin. "Mhm. Yeah I'm totally shaking in my big armoured boots." He made the mistake of kicking Noi's shin and winced as his threadbare sneakers impacted against her metal coated legs. 

"Hey, these things are comfier than they look." 

"Right." Shin shakes out his foot to wiggle the pain away. "Why do you even need to wear that medieval getup?" 

"Duston said it's about storing years worth of the physical energy it takes to lug this around, which gets used when I transform into a Devil, eventually, I think." Noi didn't really know the exact details and would probably keep it that way. En was the one who had to know every minute nuance of whatever caught his interest before acting on it. Noi lived for the moment and dealt with anything that came her way. Speaking of Duston, she should probably head back and prepare to feed the bats. "Listen, I gotta go. Need to see a Devil about some bats. Maybe I'll catch you here again sometime? If you don't die on your first mission, newbie." 

Shin looked mildly confused and then he scoffed. "I bet I've killed more people than you've ever healed." 

Noi didn't try to deny that, the boy was bloodstained head to toe. "For now. Try get presentable for En, you look a mess and he'll give you shit for it." She smirked at his offended expression and clipped her helmet back into place. "See ya." She waved and walked out of Flower Smoke, her heavy footsteps stomping on the wooden planks. 

At night, after feeding the bats and playing a few spontaneous games of Devil chess with Duston (there was severe collateral damage), Noi was allowed to soak in the Devil springs below the city, one of the only times she was permitted to remove the armour. 

Basking in the steam and rubbing her sore body, Noi reminded herself to make a concrete effort to pop into Flower Smoke every few weeks or so to check if Shin was there. Who knew, maybe they would become friends. 

* * *

Things had changed. Changed quite a lot, actually. For starters, Noi no longer had to wear the armour (thank goodness) and instead was tasked with surviving for the year without emitting even a peep of smoke. Shin had cleaned up his act, literally. Shooting up nearly 3 foot in both height and width, he towered over Noi now, much to her displeasure. She envied his size and wanted to be even bigger but her body stubbornly remained thin and lithe. The wonders that access to regular meals and a gym did for an ex street boy.

Noi and Shin had grown very close over those passing months, if they were brave enough to put a label to it they would even say they were best friends. An odd pairing sure, a tiny pseudo Devil with a little blue bow and a hulking man in a baggy suit and sneakers, but somehow they made their friendship work. And they always met up at Flower Smoke to make bets on who finished their food fastest. Noi was determined to beat Shin one day.

But today, things were quite different. Different in that a pair of sorcerers had the gall to attack the two of them as they slurped through their meals. Attack was an understatement, the entire shop was blown apart. Noi would have found it funny to see En’s pride and joy in ruins had she not been cradling Shin's torso, staring at his detached legs twitching behind him. She had seen some horrific sights over the years but to see her first  _ true  _ friend dying in front of her eyes, body in different pieces and bleeding out rapidly, she felt like a rug had been pulled out from under her; winded and faint. 

"Shin! Why would you…" Noi stammered as her chin wobbled. Her voice was scratchy and she tried to swallow the lump in her throat.

Somehow finding the strength to smile up at her, Shin chuckled. "See? I told you I'd pay you back for healing my arms." He slumped and his breaths rattled in his chest as his body ran out of blood, the flow now barely a trickle from his severed waist. 

Noi felt sick. This couldn't be happening. Why now? Why did they get attacked just before she would have become an all powerful being who could easily save Shin from such an injury. She could have even fixed the stitching in his arms properly, if he wanted her too then she would do it. Devilhood loomed ahead of her. But it wouldn't be worth shit if she couldn't enjoy it with her best friend. 

Noi slapped Shin across the chops with all her strength. His eyelids fluttered open an inch and he glared at her weakly. "Don't you dare die on me, Shin! You wanna lose all our bets now huh? I didn't take you for a quitter!" She steadied herself, having not used magic for almost a year it felt strange to inhale and reach for her smoke reserves that sat quiet and unused within her.

"Noi… what are you-" Shin muttered as he saw her lean over him. "No… don't-" 

Too late. Noi covered him in her smoke, exhaling as much as she could force from her lungs. Coating him in a healing bubble, she felt a sharp pain as her horns and tail vanished when she broke the rules of her exam. She ignored that and kept going, Shin groaned as his legs regrew and as his organs looped back into his torso. 

"How disappointing." Duston's guttural voice broke the silence of the ruins of Flower Smoke. "We could have had so much fun together, Noi, all the Devils were so excited to meet you."

Coughing as her chest burned in exertion, Noi firmly pushed Shin to the ground, slipping him off her lap and pressing on his shoulder in a wordless signal to stay  _ still. _

She wiped her face and faced the Devil. Noi would never regret this decision, even if Shin hated her for it she didn't care. It was worth it. 

"I'm sorry, Duston." She didn't make excuses or bring Shin into it, she really was apologetic. Her and Duston had had some great times over the years. 

Their wings trailed along the ground as they walked towards her, stopping and staring. Their face was downturned in a frown and they sighed. "You were the strongest of all my students, you know. We can still be pals though, I'm sure Chidaruma won't mind." 

They vanished in a cloud of smoke and Noi felt a tug on her leg. 

"Why did you do that, Noi? You could have been a Devil." Shin didn't yet have the strength to stand and simply lay on the ground, legs akimbo and body straining with the energy it took to reach out to her. 

She sat down and fisted a hand in his ruined jacket, avoiding his eyes. "It wouldn't be worth it. Not without you." Noi whispered.

Shin looked pained, he opened his mouth to speak more but it snapped shut when he caught sight of the tears sluicing down her face. He set his hand over hers, firmly curling his large fingers over her skinny ones and offered silent comfort that Noi drank in as she tried to compose herself. 

"How will we explain this to En?" Her voice wobbled only once and Shin blanched, making Noi snort wetly. 

"Fuck."

* * *

En never brought up her lost Devilhood. In fact, it was like her exam never happened. He even seemed content that Noi was working with the Family and going on regular missions with Shin, despite the risk to her safety. Did her cousin trust him with keeping an eye on her that much? She couldn't care less what En thought, but she had to admit; working with Shin was  _ fun.  _

Noi witnessed a different side to him, one that she never saw at those lazy lunch times at Flower Smoke. He was reckless, brutal and totally uncaring of any injuries he took whilst in a berserker rage. Shin was just plain crazy and she loved it. 

Their competitive nature with each other worked in Noi's favour, on and on, Shin would pressure her in the gym to lift heavier and exercise longer. The leftover energy from her Devil exam blitzed through her body and she shot up by feet packing on muscle until she stood equal in stature to her senpai, although she had a feeling she still had some growing left to do. That was new too, the unexpected mentorship she found in him and it felt natural to follow his lead, even if he didn't feel worthy of her attention.

Noi had quickly nipped that self loathing in the bud when they signed their first contract together. She hadn't considered that Shin had felt guilty over her failing the Devil exam and she let him know how stupid he was being about it. She stood by her choice and wouldn't regret it, not now, not ever. 

They were best friends then and Partners now, they grew closer every day in the most nonsensical and miniscule of ways. Whether that was unknowingly memorising Shin's order at a new restaurant or by somewhat sharing ownership of his mangy mutt and one incident especially stood out to Noi when she thought about the evolution of their relationship. 

Shortly after signing their second contract, the years had breezed by and the passage of time had shocked Noi when Blue Night rolled around again, the Family faced a crisis. 

"Damn it! We can't keep letting this happen, look how many people we've lost! Fuck it, I'll go out and act as bait." Noi raged as she slammed her fists onto the empty table. 

"No you won't, Noi, that's too risky." Shin said without missing a beat, if anyone else had tried to tell her what to do they would have found their skulls buried in a brick wall. Instead, she whirled around to direct her rage at him but the phone suddenly rang, interrupting the bickering pair. 

Noi watched En speak with the caller then peaked at Shin out of the corner of her eye. He was slouching in a chair that was turned backwards feigning his usual lazy mood but she could see tension tight in his back. He wasn't happy with this situation either, she could tell that her plan had rankled him. Shin caught her gaze and they looked at each other, she sighed quietly and was slightly annoyed at how well his calm expression worked to relax her. The barest hint of a smile crossed his face, eyes crinkling and mouth softening as Noi lowered her hackles, steadfastly ignoring the rising butterflies in her stomach. Those types of feelings wouldn’t bother her on a normal day, but when they concerned her Partner, that was entering into a dangerous territory that she wasn’t sure she could make it out of. She wasn’t a teenager anymore, sure she had had a silly crush on the trashy boy with zero manners but this was a whole other barrel of Devils. Noi had so much more to lose now if she scared Shin off with a confession of considering him in a different light or whatever  _ this  _ was. 

En clicked his fingers to get their attention. “Tenjin found their base, go there and deal with this once and for all.”

A feral grin unfurled on her Partner’s face and Noi was sure she had a matching manic expression. There was no time to debate on what-ifs and fuzzy feelings, she could ruminate on that over a victory beer. They had a fight to win.

Half the fun of fighting was wandering into a battle with an open mind and no predetermined expectations. Noi didn't plan for anyone and she made a point to overcome any problem thrown her way, whatever it could be, she'd crush it in her fists, grind it to dust under her feet and emerge victorious, ready to gloat to Shin. Something was different about this one though, silent throughout the entire broom ride, Noi could feel how tense Shin was as she looped her arms around his waist while he drove. It had never occurred to either of them to drive separately, they usually had to haul each other home by the bootstraps anyway. Noi could heal any injury but it didn't mean that it wouldn't still hurt enough to make driving difficult so they took turns driving the one stick. 

They arrived at the unassuming house, set in an unassuming street. Noi raised her eyebrows as she disembarked behind Shin who had stuffed his hands inside his pockets, trudging onwards. 

"Strange that Tenji didn't wait for us, d'you think he went ahead, senpai?" Noi wondered as she peered this way and that, trying to hype herself up while ignoring the creeping sense of foreboding that was slowly but surely slithering up her spine. 

"Sure," Shin shrugged and nudged the gate open. 

Right, game time. Noi cracked her neck and overtook him, dashing by as she rolled her shoulders. "Let's go, senpai!" 

Murmuring in a fond voice, Shin attempted to steady her exuberance. "Easy, Noi. Slow down." 

Goosebumps danced across her skin, partly from hearing his deep cadence and the rest from the eerie atmosphere that the house gave off. The door was hanging off its hinges, blood spilled across the floor like a macabre red carpet and the odd groaning of wood rumbled as the house settled sporadically. Noi slowed down and spread her weight carefully across the floorboards, muffling her weight as the pair scaled the ominous set of stairs just past the foyer. A firm pressure on her shoulder made her flinch and bring her fists up, only to realise that Shin was holding her back. 

" _ Fuck!  _ You scared me shitless, senpai." Noi whispered and glowered at him. 

Eyes fixed firmly on the awaiting floor above, Shin leaned in close with his head tilted towards hers. "I don't like this. Stick near me, okay?" 

Suppressing a snort at his worry, Noi began to poke fun at him but the words died in her mouth as she took in his worry-pinched expression. Eyebrows drawn close with a frown, his hand held her tightly for a second then nodded, letting Noi continue and sticking close to her side; close enough she could feel his warmth permeate her suit. She had cited her reasoning behind matching his work outfit as wanting to wear it better than him, although she privately thought he pulled off the suit and sneakers combo better than she could. 

They advanced, pausing at the top of the stairs when they spotted another corpse, this one with their head severed cleanly at the neck;  _ too  _ cleanly. 

"He got another one, senpai." Noi said, grimacing. While she wasn't close to any of the new guard, there were so few of the old remaining, she still felt a pang of loss whenever one of them perished. It had happened too often recently. They had to put an end to this. She spotted a familiar head of hair at the end of the hallway and sighed audibly in relief, the sensation swooping through her breathlessly. "Tenji! Oh thank goodness! I was so worried, where's the bastard hiding? Let's get them together!" 

Tenjin stepped forward. And Noi gasped, vision zeroing on his severed head held aloft, still dripping blood. She felt poleaxed, the hallway shifting as her legs trembled. "Tenji…" Noi whispered as hot tears bubbled over, unbidden. 

" _ Shit."  _ Shin growled behind her and hearing the palpable rage in his voice grounded her. 

She was already thundering down the hallway, just paces away from the Cross-Eye, she felt Shin's presence by her side, offering wordless comfort and threw her fist forward and upwards in a furious uppercut, crashing into the Boss' jaw. 

Barely reacting besides a stale exhalation, he stumbled backwards and dropped Tenjin's head, abruptly turning in a bizzare unnatural twist and slashed the air with twin knives. 

The resulting spray of blood surprised Noi, and then the pain took over, similar to a paper cut for a brief moment before erupting into blinding agony. She hadn't been hurt this badly in, well,  _ ever _ . Noi met Shin's astonished face, they were both equally shocked that they had been injured this easily and she grit her teeth. 

"So you're Shin and Noi." He rasped as he ripped off their masks. 

Slipping on her own blood, she trudged forwards and pummelled the Cross-Eye's diaphragm with her fist, lifting him bodily as he hunched over then slamming him over her knee. His back was like a brick wall and didn't even snap under the pressure, she gripped him at the shoulders with fingers curled like claws and bashed his face in, teeth snapping beneath her knuckles. In a smooth movement, Shin took over and rode him into the ground, slamming his hammer into the remains of the man's face. When they fought together, Noi and Shin were aware of the unspoken synchrony of their fighting, able to swap in and out of opponents with ease, trusting the other to cover their back. It was like a gentle dance, if dancing consisted of throwing Cross-Eyes assholes over elbows into the pits of Hell. 

Noticing with a spike of worry that she would be unable to heal Shin while he was so close to the Cross-Eye Boss without risking healing the bastard at the same time. Noi wasn't sure Shin even noticed his injury anymore, he was cackling like a madman and blood was flowing from his hammer. 

Tucking his legs up to his chest and planting his boots onto Shin's chest, the man kicked out powerfully and Shin sailed through the air into Noi. She caught him and planted him back on the ground, looking up to the dead-eye stare of the Boss as he gutted the two of them in a fell swoop. 

It was Noi's turn to lose her balance and Shin wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they slid to the floor, legs unable to hold them up anymore as their bodies were wracked with injuries. She was sure her stomach would have flipped as Shin embraced her, had it not been ripped out of her abdomen and lying in a pile of wet gleaming viscera in front of them. Vision fading to black, Noi passed out as Shin held her tightly, the last thing she saw was the slow steady approach of the Cross-Eye's Boss. 

The rumbling purr of the broomstick engine roused Noi from her stupor. She was slouched over with someone slotted behind her, thighs flush against hers as they sped through the night sky. 

Gasping, wild and frightened, Noi forced her numb mouth to work. "Tenjin!" She lurched forward, scrambling for stability until a familiar voice calmed her. 

"Shh, Noi." Shin murmured into her hair and she relaxed into the circle of safety his arms provided. "I'm here. I'm gonna park over there, okay?" 

Recalling the injuries that he sustained, Noi twisted her head and huffed smoke over him, enveloping him in a healing cloud as the broom puttered to a stop above a rooftop. The rest of her memories regarding the terrible encounter returned to her. Then the tears came. 

Scalding hot and washing through the blood on Noi’s face, she couldn't halt the sudden flow of emotion and bit her lip hard to stifle shuddering sobs. 

She had cried more today than she had in years. Like a slideshow, various experiences she had had with Tenjin played before her eyes. Noi's first meeting with him, giving him a black eye and a burst lip as she smacked his face, tracing those beautiful facial markings. His strained smile as she braided his hair into matted knots with her unexperienced little hands. Sparring with him and the rest of the gang. The way he gifted her a new set of earrings every year for her birthday without fail. Carefully dismounting the broom, Shin groaned as the movement ground and chafed his just-healed wounds. He turned and offered a hand to Noi who just stared, unseeing, at him. 

Shin sighed softly. "Work with me here?" He reached down, threading their fingers together and tugging her to her feet with a grunt of effort; she wasn't so light anymore. Noi swayed and Shin quickly steered her over to the lip of the roof, not so subtly shoving her to take a seat on the ground. 

He sat beside her, they bumped elbows and shoulders, attached at the hip despite the wide expanse of the rooftop; but neither moved away. 

Noi wiped her nose on her sleeve and scrubbed at her eyes. "How did we get away?" 

"En came." Shin said, with an undertone of shock, as if he could hardly believe it himself. 

" _ What!? _ " Noi shouted without warning and Shin nearly vaulted off the roof in surprise, swearing harshly. 

Why would En rescue them? He couldn't have been too bothered about losing Shin, considering the suicide missions he's been sent on previously; all of which he survived, grinning through the bloodshed. But to risk his own life to come and get Noi… she refused to believe it for anything other than a selfish ulterior motive. If he was planning to help all along then maybe they wouldn't have lost Tenjin. 

"We have to go back." Noi's voice was low and her fists shook. 

"Go  _ back?"  _ Shin said incredulously. "We got our asses handed to us, Noi, take the loss and let it go." 

"Don't you get it? If En had stepped in, when all this shit started  _ months _ ago, we wouldn't have lost everyone!" She ignored the wobbles and cracks in her speech, imploring Shin to just  _ understand _ for a moment that no one knew En as well as Noi. 

If she squinted, she was sure she could see the region where that damned house was on the horizon which began morphing and distorting oddly. Noi blinked hard and peered closer, elbowing Shin to take notice, bulbous caps and blooming spores sprawled across the cityscape, spilling into streets and washing over buildings like a fungal tsunami. For En to use that amount of magic… 

The distant cacophony of crashes and screams reached the pair and Noi was aware that she was on her feet, stumbling to the broom. Shin cursed and scrambled to rise. 

"Oi, where the fuck are you going?" He sounded far away as though speaking through a long tunnel, Noi felt cold. She almost mounted the broom until Shin stepped into her vision, blocking her. 

"Move, Shin." Her numb tongue flapped uselessly before the words spilled out. 

Shin raised an eyebrow. "Move? Why don't you make me, huh?" He stayed put, planting his legs and crossing his arms. Noi just stared at his chest, at the drying blood. Shin warily touched her face, tilting her chin so that she met his gaze. He smiled in that quiet way of his. "Noi," 

Her resolve shook and her face crumpled. "Senpai…" She whispered. 

Shin took a step forward, firmly bumping and directing Noi back to their makeshift seats. This time curling his fingers through hers, grounding her mentally and physically. 

Squeezing her hand, Shin spoke again. "I know you're upset about Tenjin," He took a deep breath. "And I know you're worried about En, but the only reason he came personally was to make sure  _ you  _ were safe." 

Noi made to interject, but he went on. "Y'know he tried to tell me to keep you safe when we first became Partners? As if anyone could stop you once you set your mind to something." He laughed quietly. "But I didn't need En to make me care about you, you did that all yourself."

Finally relaxing, Noi let go of her grief, packaging it away to be dealt with privately and cast aside the other conflicting emotions (which definitely didn't include any worry regarding En). She steeled herself and shuffled closer to Shin, listening to his surprised intake of breath as she set her head on his shoulder. "You're such a sap, senpai." Noi mumbled into his suit lapels. 

"Only when it matters." He replied quietly and rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. 

As the mushrooms rose over Mastema, as Tenjin's corpse cooled and as the pair carefully embraced. Noi let herself come to terms with the fact that she might just be in love with Shin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed!  
> Noi is confused for budding feelings for Shin and she can't even fathom being worried about En.  
> Next chapter features some "missing" scenes from the anime series.

**Author's Note:**

> En and Noi have such potential in their pre series relationship! Such a complicated familial bond, En is a bastard and Noi is also a bastard that was exposed to him.  
> I don't think it's too outrageous to assume Noi became close to the original members of the Family, rip Tenjin lmao.  
> Duston is a mix of both the manga and anime portrayal with some original characteristics.  
> Stay tuned for chapter two where we are introduced to Shin!


End file.
